Keeping Cats Safe at Home (KCSAH): Lessons Learned from a Human Behaviour Change Campaign to Reduce the Impacts of Free-Roaming Domestic Cats
2025
Gemma C. Ma | M. Carolyn Gates | Katherine E. Littlewood | Sarah Zito | Brooke P. A. Kennedy
Domestic cats are valued companions for many people, but when they free-roam, they can pose risks to biodiversity, communities, and their own welfare. Increasing cat containment has become a priority in Australia, yet shifting owner practices requires overcoming behavioural and structural barriers. The Keeping Cats Safe at Home (KCSAH) project was a four-year, AUD 2.5 million initiative delivered by the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals New South Wales (RSPCA NSW) from 2021 to 2024, trialling human behaviour change strategies to reduce the impacts of roaming cats in 11 NSW local government areas. Grounded in social science research, the project combined social marketing campaigns, educational resources, school programmes, and community events with subsidised desexing. The project achieved substantial reach, engaging more than 3.5 million people via social media, 42,000 through blogs, 87,000 via the website, and 36,000 through community events. Over 2700 cats were desexed and 1700 microchipped. Ecological monitoring showed reductions in free-roaming cat densities in three council areas, with many also recording declines in nuisance complaints and impoundments. Caregivers exposed to campaign messaging reported greater capability, opportunity, and motivation to contain cats: however, methodological constraints limited the ability to assess actual behaviour change. KCSAH demonstrates the opportunities and challenges of large-scale cat management, highlighting the importance of tailored interventions, veterinary desexing capacity, and nationally consistent monitoring frameworks.
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